You might remember from this morning that the set of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been deemed a "death trap" for animals by four wranglers working on the project—and the outrage has subsequently been picked up by PETA. Today, Peter Jackson and the film's producers released a statement in which they roundly denied all claims and "acknowledged the lives lost but said that some perished from natural causes." The short version: We love animals, we spent a bunch of money on animal safety, we make lots of our animals such as hedgehogs out of computers so they're not even real, we are bros with the Humane Society, and we fired those wrangler dudes like a year ago so whatever.

So, this is the worst! Up to 27 animals died in their farm facility during the making of The Hobbit …
Read more Read more

From Jackson's statement:

The producers completely reject the accusations that twenty seven animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films. Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved. Over fifty five per cent of all shots using animals in The Hobbit are in fact computer generated; this includes horses, ponies, rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, deer, elk, mice, wild boars, and wolves.

The American Humane Association (AHA) was on hand to monitor all use of animals by the production. No animals died or were harmed on set during filming.

We regret that some of these accusations by wranglers who were dismissed from the film over a year ago are only now being brought to our attention.

Okey dokey! I don't know what happened here, but please sort this out ASAP so I can watch the Hobbit without feeling a bunch of guilt about Bill the Pony's tiny little battered pony-ankles. Thx. [THR]

Advertisement

I know it seems to be against all the laws of the universe, but a judge is punishing Lindsay Lohan for committing a crime:

Lindsay will be charged with the criminal offense of lying to a police officer. As you recall, she told Santa Monica cops she was not driving her Porsche last June when it slammed into an 18-wheeler on Pacific Coast Highway. Fact is, she was — and lying to cops is a crime.

Sources connected with the case tell TMZ ... when the Santa Monica City Attorney files the criminal case against Lindsay, it will go to L.A. County Superior Court Judge Jane Godfrey for arraignment. At the time Lindsay is arraigned, we're told Judge Godfrey will revoke Lindsay's probation and set the matter for a full hearing, on grounds she violated her probation in the jewelry case by breaking the law.

Since I am a simpleton who knows nothing of the law, what's the typical sentence for violating one's probation? Jail time? A fine? House arrest? Double secret probation? I don't wish ill upon young LiLo, but it would be nice if she experienced some consequences for being a completely reckless entitled dick all of the time. [TMZ]

Amber Riley (a.k.a. Mercedes from Glee) is currently in a fiery Twitter-fueled bloodfeud with an NYC club, saying they disrespected her on her birthday. According to the club (which, by the way, is the same one where Drake and Chris Brown held their deeply uninteresting dirty-diaper simul-tantrum earlier this year), Riley is mad because they refused to let her and her 30-odd pals drink for free:

In case you missed it, Amber went off the rails on Twitter last night when WIP nightclub put the kibosh on her party plans — writing, "Never in my life have I dealt with such disrespect. That club @WIPNewYork on Vandam street, they are CROOKS and LIARS!"

...The [club's] rep tells TMZ, "Ms. Riley's team had contacted management before her arrival to work out her table arrangements which included the purchase of bottles as well as a bottle on the house. Upon arrival, her party of 30 people refused to purchase any bottles, so they did not enter."

Aside from Riley's Twitter rage, we've only heard the club's side of the story so far—so, you know, sprink-sprink-sprink. My only feeling on the matter is that you couldn't pay me to have my birthday party at the kind of club with "bottles" and "sections" and a fucking line. [TMZ]

Here is what Beyonce would (will) look like as an animated fairy queen in a peekaboo turtleneck whose best friend is a big tulip. [StyleBlazer]

Charlize Theron "showed off her dark roots, and some blotchy skin," at lunch with her mother in Cape Town. Yo, bloidz, let's see YOUR skin. Oh, that's right, you don't even HAVE ANY BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST MADE OF WORDS AND COMPUTERS LIKE A TRAMP. [News.au]